1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to covers for water closet seats, and more particularly, to soft, flexible fabric covers which are stretched across the upper side of a water closet seat to improve the aesthetics of the seat and also the comfort of the user.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
A number of types of covers for toilet seats have been proposed in the past. Two of the most successful of these are those disclosed in Thornton U.S. Pat. No. 2,994,887 and in Warnberg U.S. Pat. No. 3,102,276.
In the Thornton patent, a fabric cover panel for the seat is provided and is retained on the seat by means of a resilient or elastic band secured around the fabric panel at its outer periphery, and a length of wire mounted around the inner peripheral edge of the panel. The elastic band functions to draw the outer peripheral edge of the panel under the seat and hold it at that location after the cover is installed. The wire or other stiffening member secured to the inner peripheral edge of the panel functions to hold the fabric panel in position by expanding so as to force the inner peripheral edge of the panel outwardly beneath the under side of the seat after the stiffening member has been pushed through the seat opening.
In the Thornton seat cover, the wire stiffening member utilized is inserted in one of the two facing open ends provided in a hem formed around the inner peripheral edge of the fabric panel. As explained in the Warnberg patent which subsequently issued, the Thornton cover has certain disadvantages, and can pose a danger in use due to exposed, relatively sharp ends of the wire or other stiffening member, which is almost all usages of the cover will project out from the open ends of the channel or hem, and thus will provide a hazard to the user of the water closet.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,102,276 later issued to A. E. Warnberg, the patentee has undertaken to correct the acknowledged deficiencies of the Thornton seat cover by using an endless, entrapped wire or other stiffening member of annular configuration permanently secured around the inner peripheral edge of the fabric panel. In such seat cover as proposed by Warnberg, the described hazard of usage of sharp-ended wire or other stiffening member is obviated by complete enclosure of the endless stiffening member within a channel or hem which is provided. A problem which is experienced, however, with the cover of the type disclosed in the Warnberg patent is that any breaking of the wire which occurs over extended usage, particularly in the course of repeated launderings, and replacement on the water closet seat, completely destroys the utility of the cover, since the wire, once broken, does not function effectively and there is no way to remove the wire without slitting open the channel in which it is located and later resewing the panel to reinstall a new wire. The problems of such replacement and the expense of doing so exceed the cost of simply obtaining a new cover.
A further disadvantage which is characteristic of the Warnberg type seat cover is that the utilization of a wire as the internal stiffening member employed to bias the inner peripheral edge of the cover back up under the seat has either required the use of an expensive stainless steel or chrome plated wire to reduce ultimate rusting after numerous launderings or, where less expensive wire elements have been used, has led to an unsightly rusting problem in which rusting of the wire element discolors the cover and causes unsightly blotches thereon.